


pressure of days

by wiccaning



Series: between the bars [1]
Category: Marvel (Comics), Marvel 616, Young Avengers (Comics)
Genre: Angst, Arguing, Edgy, Heavy Angst, Hhhhhh, How Do I Tag, M/M, One Shot, Teen Angst, Thinkfast, and thats what im good ar, bc this is, i hope you enjoyed the fluff that was cassiekate, listen i dont even know, listen its an angst fest
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-04
Updated: 2018-11-04
Packaged: 2019-08-17 16:07:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,788
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16519718
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/wiccaning/pseuds/wiccaning
Summary: Running.It seems to be the only thing Tommy is good at anymore.





	pressure of days

**Author's Note:**

> listen to between the bars by Elliott Smith,,,, its why this exists lmao watch me turn this into a series of one-shots

_Drink up, baby, look at the stars  
I'll kiss you again, between the bars_

\---

Slow down.

The words meant nothing to him. He’d been told it his whole life, but the words held nothing of importance in them. 

Slowing down meant letting the world stop for a minute, allowing for things to settle down and get comfortable. It meant giving things time to work themselves out.

For Tommy, things never did.

If you were to ask him, he’d tell you the world was against him.

So, he ran.

He ran so the world couldn’t keep up and come crashing down on him again.

He didn’t stay in one place for very long, a day or two at the most, and then he was gone again, like a breath of wind in a tornado. Unnoticed.

Out of all the places he stayed, he stayed as far away from New York as he could. New York meant Billy and Teddy, New York meant Kate and Cassie and Eli. New York meant the Young Avengers.

New York meant David.

The Young Avengers weren’t a team anymore, so there was no reason for him to stick around. Sooner or later they would’ve gotten hurt.         

So, he ran.

He saw them on the news sometimes, glimpses when he passed TVs in window shops. Billy and Teddy had joined another Avengers team. Kate was a private eye based out of LA. He saw her once, walking down the street. She was still gorgeous, and she still could’ve kicked his ass in a second.

Tommy turned his head before their eyes could meet. The Young Avengers chapter of his life was over. It was time for something new. Something different.

He couldn’t seem to find what that ‘new’ was.

He’d had a job for a bit. It was okay until he and David tried to go after Patri-not and he wound up god knows where.

His memories of that place were pretty much non-existent. He remembered terror, and that was it. He didn’t think he wanted to remember more than that.

He ran before the incident, too. But he always came back to New York, and the team. But after what had happened, it was a constant thing. He spoke to nobody, let no one get close. He had the occasional hookup sometimes, but he never said his name and he was gone before morning hit.

There was nothing there for him, no point in sticking around.

So, he ran.

He always did.

\---

A few days passed. He found himself aimlessly wander the streets of New York. New York was familiar to him, but it wasn’t home.

Tommy wasn’t sure where home was.

It was New York once, for a fleeting moment, but that was gone. It sure as hell wasn’t in Jersey, with his birth parents. And it wasn’t Mount Wundagore, the home of his real mother. His home was nowhere.

He continued to walk down the street, lost in his thoughts, playing with loose change in his pocket, lost in his own head.

He was quickly interrupted when he slammed headfirst into someone.

“ _Shit_! Sorry dude, I wasn’t looking where I-”

“Tommy?”

There, in front of him was David. He stood there, frozen. He did not need this again. Tommy’s thoughts began to race.

“I didn’t know you were back in town.” David’s voice brought him back to the present.

“I was, uh, just stopping by I guess,” Tommy shuffled awkwardly, wanting to melt through the sidewalk. He _really_ didn’t need this.

“Oh.” There was a hint of disappointment in David’s voice. “It was good to see you, then.”

David gave him a slight nod and continued on his way. Tommy waited until he couldn’t see him anymore, and he ran.

He ran until his lungs couldn’t take it anymore. He collapsed in an alleyway in god knows where. His mind was going a mile a minute. He didn’t realize that there was a steady stream of tears going down his face. He propped himself up against one of the walls, taking time to try and calm down.

He’d tried for so long, hoping that maybe he could hide from the real reason he was running. He’d been making excuses for why he was running, and it had worked, for the most part.

Until he ran smack dab into the real reason.

\---

Tommy spent the next few weeks avoiding the shit out of New York and thinking. He thought about his birth parents and growing up. He thought about the Young Avengers and himself. Mostly though, he thought about David.

He thought about David a _lot_. More than he would ever admit to anyone, and a lot less platonically than he would ever admit to anyone.

David wasn’t the only boy he thought about, though. He thought about the boys he’d claimed to hate back before he accidentally vaporized his school. He realized that it was nowhere close to hatred. The most important thing Tommy realized over those weeks was that he was bisexual.

He went back to New York 3 days after he realized. It was late when he entered the city. The streets were quiet, for New York, at least. Neon signs lit up windows in seedy looking bars, and the only lights on aside from those were in 24-hour convenience stores; and the occasional light in an office, someone working late, most likely.

He kept walking, ignoring the nagging feeling that he was being watched.

Eventually, he turned into a cheap looking motel he could stay in for the night.

Or nights.

He wasn’t sure he was running this time.

\---

Tommy had found a seat at the top of a building, legs dangling over the edge, shitty beer he’d swiped from a bar on 41st street in hand.

The air became almost electric, and he didn’t need to turn to know who it was.

“So at what point were you going to tell us you were back or were you just gonna stay for a bit and take off again?”

Tommy didn’t turn, taking a sip from the bottle. “Good to see you too little brother.”

“You’re joking.” There was an edge to Billy’s voice, one Tommy didn’t recognize. “You don’t know how much worry these disappearing cause, do you? I’m pretty sure Kate thinks you’re dead and Da-”

Tommy whirled around to face his brother, anger coursing through his veins. A wave washed over him, and he realized how long he’d actually been gone for.

Billy was taller now, jawline sharper. His hair was longer than it had been the last time Tommy had seen him, and another earring had been added- Teddy’s doing probably. But he was still a skinny twink, and he was still his brother.

This didn’t get rid of the fact that he was mad. Maybe it was the fact that Billy could’ve found him at any time or the fact he was about to mention David, or maybe it was some other deep-rooted shit he was ignoring. Whatever it was, he didn’t care. All he knew was: he was mad.

“Shut. Up.” Tommy’s voice was low, and the bottle in his hand shattered. “You do not get to come up here and bitch me out about how _I_ live _my_ life, okay? Not everyone is lucky enough to have _perfect_ powers and a _perfect_ boyfriend and a _perfect_ life, alright? Not all of us are the favorite of everyone they’ve ever met and not everyone’s meant to be happy.” There was acid in his tone, but that didn’t stop his voice from cracking at the end.

“And you and I both know damn well that if you cared that much, that you could’ve found me at any time you wanted. So don’t come here with your fake worry bullshit. I don’t need it.”

Billy was caught off guard “Tommy, I-”

Tommy sped off before he could finish, not caring what he had to say.

Always running.

\---

This time he didn’t leave New York.

Instead, he sulked for a while, until his anger fizzled out. He kept walking until he found himself staring at the balcony of an apartment building.

He knew whose it was, and he knew why he’d come.

In a flash, he found himself looking through the bars on the window, regretting his decision. He had turned to leave when a voice stopped him.

“Do you always hide on people’s balconies after an argument.”

David had opened the window and was leaning on the windowsill, the bars casting a shadow.

“I didn’t mean it.” Tommy said, “I didn’t know he was going to tell you guys.”

“He told me. I don’t know about anyone else.” David shifted. “How’d you get up here, anyway. I’m pretty sure you have super speed, not teleportation.”

Tommy gave him a forced smirk. “You’re two floors up, not thirty. Get enough momentum, you can jump.”

David raised an eyebrow. “Yeah, okay.” His tone changed. “Seriously, though. What’s going on? Ever you came back from where ever that… thing took you, you’ve been off.”

Tommy started to form a sentence, but David cut him off. “Don’t try to deny it. I’ve noticed it, your brothers noticed it. What’s up.”

Tommy paused, before he explained, stumbling over his words. David blinked after he finished.

“Could you explain that at a normal pace, please.”

“Fuck it.” He sighed, going closer, grabbing David’s shirt and kissing him through the bars. It wasn’t a long one, but long enough to get the point across.

“Oh.”

Tommy began to panic, breathing rapidly.

“You _could’ve_ started with that, you know.”

“What?” Tommy was sure he was hearing things.

“Look. I still have no goddamn idea what you said, but if it has _anything_ to do with you kissing me, I think I’m okay with it.”

“I’m bi.” Tommy inhaled sharply. “And I reallylikeyou and that the reasonivebeenrunning because I don’t know how to handle it and imprettysurethiswasamistake because iknowyoudontfeelthesame.” Tommy blurted.

David paused before disappearing and opening the door next to the window. “Come in.”

Tommy followed at the slowest pace David had ever seen him. They got inside, and David took him by the hand.

“I guess it’s lucky I feel the same way, then.” David leaned in, kissing him.

“You look like you’re going to cry.” He said after he pulled away.

Tommy sat down on the couch. “I think I might.”

David sat down next to him, putting an arm around his shoulders and pulling him in close. “That’s okay.”

Tommy relaxed eventually, and the two laid cuddled up on the couch in each others’ arms, sharing the occasional kiss.

Tommy did have a home. 

And he had found it.

**Author's Note:**

> hehe follow me on twitter @transwiccan


End file.
